Tiger Scout Resources for a Great Program

Tiger Scouts is an exciting scouting program for first grade youth ready to get going! Tigers do stuff - lots of stuff - and all with their adult partners. This program is intended to open up the world to inquisitive minds along with the caring guidance of adults. The first steps along the Scouting Trail are laid here and every rank advancement through the scouting program builds on the basic activities done as Tigers.

If a youth has completed kindergarten and has earned the Bobcat Badge, earning the Tiger rank is next. The scout receives a Tiger Scout handbook, Tiger neckerchief, and Tiger neckerchief slide. A blue Cub Scout Uniform is also needed. This part of the scouting trail is intended to take one school year, preparing the scout to begin Wolf adventures after completing first grade.

How to Join:

1. Go to BeAScout.org
2. Click the 'Cub Scouts' tab.
3. Enter your zipcode and click the arrow button.
4. Click on a Pack near you to see its contact info so you can call the Pack or your local Council about joining.
5. Complete a BSA Youth Application and Health Record and give them to the Cubmaster of the Pack you choose.

The Tiger Cub program runs on two levels. The scout and adult partner do Do-At-Home Projects as a family. Then, the scout and adult partner meet with the rest of the Tiger Den at den meetings, den outings, and pack meetings. Meeting sounds pretty boring, but a good scout meeting is active, fun, and interesting. The hour is often packed with games, activities, and safe adventure.

A little Tiger Trivia:

• Tigers had a totem that was hung from the belt until 2006. It was replaced by a totem that hangs from the right pocket, similarly to the Wolf and Bear progress beads. In 2015, the totem was replaced by Adventure belt loops.
• Tiger Cubs did not earn the Bobcat rank. In 2006, the Bobcat rank became the first rank earned by all Cub Scouts, including Tigers. The Tigers had their own motto, but now they use the Cub Scout motto. Tiger Cub Motto:
  Search, Discover, Share
• For a few years, up until 2001, the Tiger Cubs had their own promise to memorize. That was discontinued in favor of the Cub Scout promise, which was replaced with the Scout Oath in 2015. Tiger Cub Promise:
  I promise to love God, my family and my country,
  and to learn about the world.

Tiger Advancement
Tiger Scouts spend their time doing adventures that move them ahead towards their Tiger rank. By completing seven adventures, the Tiger rank is earned. The Tiger's adult partner participates the entire way, but the recognition items are only for the scouts.

Tiger Rank Requirements:

1. Complete each of the six Tiger required adventures:
   1. Games Tigers Play
   2. My Tiger Jungle
   3. Team Tiger
   4. Tiger Bites
   5. Tiger Circles: Duty to God
   6. Tigers in the Wild
2. In addition to the six required adventures, complete at least one Tiger elective adventure of your den's or family's choosing from this list: Magical Mysteries, Floats and Boats, Good Knights, Rolling Tigers, Sky Is the Limit, Stories in Shapes, Tiger-iffic!, Tiger: Safe and Smart, Tiger Tag
3. With your parent, guardian, or other caring adult, complete the exercises in the pamphlet entitled How to Protect Your Children From Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide.
4. Watch the Protect Yourself Rules video for 1st Grade, Tiger.
   (The video is located at https://vimeo.com/325064660 and can be watched on-line or downloaded and viewed off-line.)
   OR Earn the Protect Yourself Rules Preview Adventure for Tiger.

Tiger Cub Scouts may also complete the Protect Yourself Rules Preview Adventure for requirement 2. If Cub Scouts use the Protect Yourself Rules Adventure in requirement 4, the adventure can not be used as an elective for requirement 2.

Akela is the name given to the Cub Scout's leader. This is the Tiger's adult partner, and that person is responsible for acknowledging completion of each adventure requirement by signing and dating the appropriate spot in the Tiger's handbook. There is also a spot for the Tiger Den Leader to sign for each requirement. Pages in the back of the Tiger handbook can be used by the Tiger to track progress all in one place, and some dens use advancement charts or den doodles to publicly display advancement.

Once a Tiger has completed enough adventures to earn rank, the game isn't finished. There are still many more adventures to explore until it's time to move on to a Wolf den. Some scouts strive to earn the remaining dozen adventure belt loops.

Tiger Den Leader:

An energetic, well-trained, and caring Den Leader is critical to the success of a Tiger Den. The Den Leader plans the program of activities for the year and makes that plan available to all the adults. But, the den leader does not organize and run every den meeting and outing, instead the actual running of the program is done through shared leadership with the adult partners.

A Tiger Den relies on the support and enthusiasm of its families! This shared leadership helps ensure participation by all, provides a sense of ownership to all, and gives each scout a chance to work on leadership skills - skills that he will work on all the way through Eagle Scout.

Tiger Den Leader is a registered volunteer BSA position. Every Tiger Den is required to have a registered den leader whose responsibilities are:

1. Work directly with other den and pack leaders to ensure that their den is an active and successful part of the pack.
2. Coordinate shared leadership among the Tiger adult partners, ensuring that den meetings and outings are planned, prepared for, and conducted by all adult partners on a rotating basis, and that the den activities provide advancement opportunities for the scouts in the den.
3. Attend pack leaders' meetings.
4. Lead the den at the monthly meeting and pack activities.
5. Ensure the transition of boys or girls in the Tiger den into a Wolf den at the end of the year.

There are many resources available to help the den leader plan and run a successful, interesting program for the scouts. Most valuable, especially to new Tiger Den Leaders, is the Tiger Den Leader Guide. It has den meeting plans for all adventures, and many ideas for activities that promote the purposes of Cub Scouting, and that Tigers will enjoy.

Tip: Keep in mind that participation is the key goal of the Tiger program. There is no level of competence or skill required to earn the rank badge. Don't push your scout to succeed, just participate and enjoy the time together.